The Ancient Charter
by Tasty Remnant
Summary: Eragon finds himself lost in a different world to the one he knows will he be able to find his way home and end his fight.
1. Chapter 1

Eragon hit the floor hard, his breath exploded from him. He looked up at the hole in the ceiling from which he came and heard soldiers running towards it. He looked around the room, to his right there was a passage way. Picking up his elven sword he leapt to his feet and ran down it. As the tunnel became too dark for him to see clearly in he muttered.

"Brisingr raudhr."

As his surroundings lit up he glanced back towards the chamber he had fallen into. It was not there! He turned around to face a damp stone wall not two feet from his face. _How is this possible? _He asked himself. He turned to examine his surroundings. It appeared as if he had stumbled into some kind of cave. He inhaled; the air felt damp and stagnant however he could detect a hint of what appeared to be rosemary.

Following his nose Eragon followed the smell for a few minutes through the twisting cave. Eventually he felt the faint touch of a draft brush past him. Invigorated he followed the draft. He turned a corner and from the far side of the tunnel he saw light. Eragon took off at a run toward the light. As he was dazzled by the daylight as he ran out Eragon narrowly avoided running of a steep cliff. A huge water fall crashed down the cliff to his right. To his left where a set of stairs that climbed the face of the cliff. He drank from a small pool at the foot of the stairs. The water was cool and refreshing after the muggy damp of the cave.

As he turned to climb the stairs, a noise from the cave entrance whispered past his ears. Eragon was overcome by the compulsion to run and his body had run up a score of steps before the compulsion passed.

Eragon looked around anxiously. Walking cautiously back down the steps Eragon pondered what had just occurred; was there a spell caster nearby? Tentatively Eragon opened his mind (which he had closed before the fight) and was immediately sensed two incredibly frightened humans about to come pelting through the exit of the cave. Eragon looked around for somewhere to hide. There was nowhere. Gritting his teeth Eragon drew Brisingr and waited for the pair to run out. A couple of seconds passed then with a lot of noise and spluttering a young man and women came bursting out the cave. The pair where so focused on looking between their knees panting, that they did not notice Eragon. Eragon examined them, both where adorned with fine tunics and and the women wore an armour of a type Eragon could not recognise. She also carried a bandolier with seven bells of increasing size. Both were well-armed. Eventually the women (more of a girl to be fair) looked up.

"Sam!" she yelled.

The young man turned drawing his sword. Eragon watched as the man's hand moved and as it did so drew livid marks in the air. He then threw the marks in Eragon's direction. Eragon, having no intention to find out what these strange marks did, moved swiftly to the side. As he watched the burning mark fly pass him he suddenly heard a crescendo of sound passing through and into him, and it did his defences around his mind shattered instantly and a foreign consciousness entered and dominated him and forced him to be still. He looked at the young women again. She held a large bell in both hands. Her eyes looked scared but determined.

The man eyed him warily, then turned to the girl and asked.

"Now what?"

"I have it, it's not going anywhere." She replied, then to Eragon. "Name yourself!"

_It? What do they think I am some kind of animal?_

"Speak!" she shouted forcibly.

"Eragon Bromsson!" Eragon stuttered and continued. "Shadeslayer, Argetlam, Firesword!"

"What manner of beast are you?" She demanded.

Eragon shuddered as her will forced him to speak.

"Human! I am human!"

"Enough Lireal, he's telling the truth. He won't hurt you." Said a female voice behind the pair.

They parted to let the newcomer through. Eragon looked down and saw… a dog?

Both the Inheritance cycle and the Old Kingdom Trilogy are my favourite fantasy series. I am very attracted to the practical view on magic both these series possess and their description of its mechanics engages me so I thought, hey why not mix them together and check out the mutated results. Anyway I don't own anything here. And as this is my first chapter in my second ever ff I would appreciate feedback. I hope you enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Eragon felt the women's consciousness slowly withdraw from him, both her eyes and the mans never left him. Both stood taught as drawn bows, ready to react should he tried to attack them. Eragon breathed a sigh of relief when her presence removed completely, though his ears still rang with the noise of the bell she wielded. The dog stood, its head tilted to one side, looking at him curiously. Eragon slowly rebuilt the barriers around his mind. _Not that they did me much good!_ He thought. The group remained as they were on one side the Man known as Sam and the women known as Lireal and Eragon on the other, the dog stood between them. This standoff remained for several minutes until the dog spoke again.

"I am the Disreputable Dog and these are my companions Lireal, Abhorsen, and Prince Sam."

Eragon said nothing.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked stiffly.

"I don't know." Eragon said simply.

"You have the stench of free magic around you, and you bear no charter, so you'll forgive me when I ask you, what are you? Necromancer? Construct?" Sam asked roughly.

Before Eragon could reply, Lireal spoke.

"He wasn't lying before when he said he was human. He couldn't have."

"I am human, and I wish none of you any harm." Eragon said in the Ancient Language.

The demeanour of both the warriors diminished as he said this. The dog however shivered as the words reached him causing her coat to shimmer and the leather collar around her neck to brighten.

"I don't know what you just said" the man said "but for some reason I am glad you did.

"Why were you running out of that cave?" Eragon asked.

With that the Sam and Lireal looked down at the Dog.

"What was that thing?" Lireal asked the Dog.

Tearing her gaze from Eragon, the Dog turned to Lireal and spoke.

"You already know her." With that the Dog walked up to her and placed her nose on the last and largest of the ebony bells on her bandolier.

"Astarael?" Lireal muttered.

"What is left of her anyway, more a shadow of herself really." The Dog replied.

"What of Mogget? I saw him unbound. Where is he?" Sam asked.

"She wanted to talk to him. Do not worry about him for the time being."

"What on earth are you people taking about?" Eragon shouted.

They all turned to look at him. Then the dog said.

"I quite like him;" looking up at Lireal "can we keep him?"

That night they sat by a small campfire. Eragon looked around him. To his left the dog snoozed. And on the opposite sides of the fire, lay Sam and Lireal. Eragon could tell by the depth of their breathing that neither where sleeping.

_I have to learn more about them and this place. _

Eragon tentatively pushed a tendril of thought out towards Sam. To his surprise he found him mind completely un-shielded. He had similar results with Lireal.

_How can they be spellcasters and not feel and react to my touch?_

He then pushed his mind toward the Dog. The dog thrummed with energy. Its consciousness was vast its thought process was so unlike any he had met before, except maybe spirits? Compelled by the similarity, Eragon continued to look through the Dogs mind but could not even discern a single thought from it.

_Find anything interesting?_

The Dog slowly got up and turned to look at Eragon.

Eragon quickly shielded his mind.

The Dog sneezed then lay back down and fell asleep.

Several hours before dawn, a troubled Eragon slowly fell into his waking dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

The moon had just reached its peak in the sky when the dog stirred. Eragon watched as it gently woke both Sam and Lireal then turned to Eragon.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Where?" asked Eragon.

The dog shook itself and 'grinned' at him and replied.

"For a walk"

They climbed the stairs in silence with the dog in front Eragon following behind and Lireal and Sam behind him. The going was hard for Sam and Lireal and they were forced to stop regularly. They watched Eragon, who wasn't even out of breath, with wary eyes.

The sun was rising over the horizon as they drew close to the top of the stairs, Lireal called out to Eragon.

"Wait I sense Death at the top."

Eragon turned to her.

"You _sense_ Death?" he replied sceptically .

"Yes, people have died recently at the top of the stairs."

The party moved into line abreast and as they approached the top Sam and Lireal drew their swords and it seemed as if the dog had grown larger. Eragon drew Brisingr. The smell of decaying flesh hit the four as they reached to top to see a deserted field strewn with the bodies of men and mules. As they walked among the bodies' ravens flew away squawking.

"A merchant convoy I think. I wonder what…" said Sam.

Eragon's keen hearing was picking up a sound down towards the cliff, something ripping maybe.

"Something is moving out there." he said pointing towards a mule on the cliff edge.

In an instant Sam and Lireal were by his side. They watched as a mule in front of them was slowly sucked down into the earth. Suddenly the earth parted and a large maggot like creature with a gaping maw and a tongue of silver burst through the ground. Eragon jumped back in horror. Lireal however loosed a silver arrow at the creature where it met it flesh of apparent darkness with a flash of fire. As Sam and Lireal retreated to a safe distance the creature roared.

"Who dares disturb my feasting?" the being sounded like the combined voices of both men and mules. "My feast is so long due."

Lireal ran in front of Sam, sword in hand as Sam drew more of those livid marks in the air. A few moments later he took one end of the line of marks and threw it towards the creature and yelled.

"Look away!"

There was a blinding flash and a sound like a choir screaming. Eragon cracked open his eyes and surveyed the scene before him, where the creature once lay was now a scene of devastation. Small fires littered the field. Eragon glanced towards Sam.

_How does he have the strength to do that?_

"What was that?" asked Lireal.

"A spell for binding something, never quite sure what. Do you think it worked?"

"No, but it did work as a very bright beacon to the dead nearby." said the Dog casually.

Eragon could still sense the creature's power though the dirt beneath him.

"Its underneath us." He said. "And moving away."

"And how do you know that." asked Sam suspiciously.

"Because I can feel it," shrugged Eragon.

Sam stared at Eragon with distrust. Eragon met his gaze and pushed into his mind.

_How can we trust him? When he clearly isn't normal_.

Eragon was about to challenge Sam's doubts when Lireal called.

"Sam we have to burn these bodies."

Sam's stare broke as he turned and walked towards the nearest body. After briefly drawing more marks, the body at Sam's feet burst into fierce flames. In seconds it had turned to ash. Eragon was aghast. The amount of energy it must take to burn a body that fast would leave him near death and yet Sam walked on to the next body and repeated the ritual. Nearby Lireal was also dispatching the bodies with apparent ease.

_Enough! I need to know the source of their power._

With his mind, he engulfed Sam's distracted consciousness. He sped through it seeking the knowledge he needed. Sam body froze with a pained expression on his face. The Dog's ears pricked up and it turned towards them. It growled then barked. The bark hit Eragon like a smack in the face. His consciousness was thrown out of Sam's mind. Sam staggered then collapsed in a heap. The dog had grown even larger and began trotting toward Eragon. Eragon took several steps back with a shocked expression on his face. Lireal ran to the Dogs side and drew a bell.

"So now you know." The Dog growled.

Eragon nodded as the dog grew larger and walked in front of him.

"Well then there is only one thing left to do."

And with that the massive dog jumped on Eragon and, before he could escape, licked him on the face.

Pain and darkness greeted him.

_Sorry bout the wait. Erm I already know that the beginning was a bit pants but any reviews and criticism is appreciated._


	4. Chapter 4

_He clung on helplessly as Saphira's body plummeted to the ground as he desperately tried to draw her soul into his so that she might live. All for nought as he felt her slip away from him and his soul rent apart. Slowly he released her as they both now tumbled towards the ground. The tears of anguish whipped from his eyes as they watched the cold hard ground approach him. He closed his eyes and begged for release from this agony. It was not forthcoming._

"SAPHIRA!" Eragon cried as he burst through his sleep.

The Disreputable Dog stood over him, eyes staring into his filled with sympathy.

_Calm your mind Eragon. For past sorrow are not todays._

The Dogs' thoughts slowly washed over his and he felt as his nightmares slowly faded.

He looked up to see Sam and Lireal watching over him.

"I'm sorry." Eragon whispered looking at Sam.

Sam's eyes softened a touch as he knelt down beside him.

"I know." Sam said. "The Disreputable Dog explained to me what you did and why you did it."

"He also explained who you were and where you came from," added Lireal.

"I still don't quite understand that part," admitted Sam.

"As I explained earlier, Astareal's coming must have created a type of gateway between our world and Eragon's," said the dog. "But I would not have thought her capable that power."

As Eragon picked himself up, he looked around at his surroundings. They were in some sort of shack, recently flooded judging by the layer of earth on the floor.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"Several leagues west of the House" said Sam.

"Abhorsen's?" Asked Eragon drawing on the memories he had drawn from Sam.

Sam nodded then turned to Lireal.

"We should probably get going."

"So we're going to cast this together then?" she replied doubtfully.

"Yes it will be more powerful trust me" said Sam.

Eragon coughed and said. "Can I help?"

"With respect Eragon this form of magic is beyond you," replied Sam tersely.

_I doubt that. _Eragon thought, projecting his thoughts to everyone in the room.

"I think I've picked up more than you think" said Eragon.

Sam clenched his fists for a moment then motioned him to join them.

They took each other's hands and Eragon felt a great energy well up within Sam and Lireal as they began to whistle. Eragon began to whistle and reached for his mag….

_Eragon STOP! _Shouted the Dog's mind. _You have to reach into the charter or you will perish. You don't have the strength to power this spell by your own will._

_HOW!_

Eragon felt the Dog's mind lead him to a place in his head. A place that until then had lain dark, but now, Eragon could feel, thrummed with incalculable amounts of energy.

Infusing the spell with this new energy he felt the great power rise in him as marks of great wind and rain formed in his mind and left is lips. His marks joined with the ones leaving Sam and Lireal and danced and shimmered in the air in front of them forming a bright sphere, too bright to look at the last marks left their mouths, the sphere flashed a bright white before launching towards the sky at unimaginable speed. Even as he watched it Eragon felt the wind rise behind them and could smell great a rain coming. The group turned to the wind that was coming thundering down towards them breaking smaller trees and throwing them around like matchsticks.

"The spell was too strong!" said Lireal having to raising her voice in order to be heard above the approaching wind.

Sam and Lireal stood transfixed by the wave of destruction that was racing toward them. Then Eragon stood between them and the wind, one hand raised to meet it, and shouted.

"Blothr!"

The wind howled on either side of the group but they were protected from its fierceness. It was as if a wedge had formed a foot from Eragon's hand parting the wind in front of them. They stood there sheltered for over a minute until the winds had lost some of their ferocity. Eragon released the spell and turned to the trio behind him.

"Well no point just standing here." He shouted over the wind.

They nodded and the Dog woofed. Once again they headed towards Nicholas, towards danger, towards the West.


	5. Chapter 5

_Eragon paid no heed to the desperate pleading of the man on his knees before him. He picked him up by the throat with one hand and casually broke his neck with a flick of his finger. He then gently tossed the limp body over the side of the battlements and watched him fall onto the ground below. There was a wisp of air at his side. He turned to face Ayra as she stared deep into his eyes._

"_I once knew a young man that taught me a lesson of morality when dealing with such a situation," she said. "Was that man a threat to you Eragon?"_

"_He isn't a threat to anything anymore," replied Eragon as he returned her stare. _

"_Eragon you must break from this path," she said breaking her stare, concern evident in her voice. "Or you will be forever lost to it."_

_Eragon turned to face the group of guards who burst from a nearby tower and were now running towards them._

"_I know," he replied softly as he slowly drew his sword._

Lireal trudged on through the muddy woods. She was wet tired and her new armour chaffed horribly. She was, in short, miserable. It was not helped by the fact that it seemed only Sam was likewise affected. Eragon in contrast seemed tireless his constant pace was so brutal to follow that on occasions she offered to lead in order to slow them down. And when they stopped to sleep at night she noticed that he never once shut his eyes. She had difficulty believing the Dog's explanation of him saying that he was both human but with unnatural strength, stamina and perception. It all smacked of free magic to her. However he was an evident outdoorsman. Every night he would disappear with the Dog and come back with some form of game or another. And every time there wouldn't be a scratch on the animal or any trace of charter magic.

On the third night after their summoned weather they sat round a small fire that Eragon had constructed, Lireal thought of the name Eragon screamed out that day at the hut and wondered who it was and what had happened. Saphira, a pretty name to be sure, not one she had ever heard before however. She looked up to find Eragon staring at her with those deep brown eyes with a look like he was looking into her very soul. She quickly looked away, feeling embarrassed without really knowing why. Then he spoke.

"She was my dragon." He said his voice clear and sharp on that quiet night.

"I don't under…" Lireal started.

"You know what a dragon is?" He asked.

Lireal nodded.

"Then she looked exactly like you think she did with scales all shades of blue long teeth and sharp talons," he smiled as he spoke as if recalling a happy memory. "And she was more intelligent and wiser than you could believe."

Lireal flinched as an image hit her mind of a ferocious looking beast but beautiful in spite of its obvious power, or because of it.

"What happened to it?" Asked Lireal. And a pained look flashed on Eragon's face.

Suddenly she was filled with vertigo and an image of the dragon falling through the air beneath her and then the most powerful lance of compassionate agony lanced through her causing her to gasp out. Eragon looked down at the fire before them.

"Im sorry," he said softly as he jabbed at the fire with a stick causing sparks to fly into the air above them. "_She _was murdered in a battle by another…"

Lireal picked herself up and walked over to Eragon who continued to stoke the fire with his stick. She sat down beside him and put her arm over his shoulders.

"You loved her?" She murmured.

"More than that," he replied softly. "She was me. And I her. We were one."

"I don't understand."

"From the moment she hatched are souls were merged and when she died…" he sighed. "She took part of me with her."

Lireal looked up at him expecting tears but finding nothing in his eyes but the dancing reflections of the fire in front of them. He then turned to her and said.

"It is late, and there is far to go in the morning."

"But I…" Lireal started.

"Slytha," murmured Eragon quickly catching Lireal before she fell back onto the earth.

He carried back to her bed and gently put her down and covered her with a blanket.

He turned to find the Dog in front of him, head tilted to one side.

"She would have to look so much like her wouldn't she?" Said Eragon.

"Such is the nature of things," replied the Dog

Eragon walked around the fire past the snoring form of Sam. Then sat and embraced his waking dream. The only one he could have and the only one he didn't want to see again.


End file.
